The Church's Role for Israel
Why it is so important for Christians to pray for Israel and resist the current rise of antisemitism:
The primary role of the Church in the end times is praying for the salvation of Israel. This is what will eventually bring unity...seeing eye to eye... to the end time Church all over the planet:
Isaiah 52:4-10 For thus says the Lord GOD: "My people went down at first Into Egypt to dwell there; Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 Now therefore, what have I here," says the LORD, "That My people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them Make them wail," says the LORD, "And My name is blasphemed continually every day. 6 Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: 'Behold, it is I.' " 7 How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" 8 Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye When the LORD brings back Zion. 9 Break forth into joy, sing together, You waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God.
The watchmen are the end time Church. They will sing and pray night and day until Jerusalem is a "praise in the nations"...that means they will pray to music night and day until Jesus returns and sets up His throne in the physical city of Jerusalem:
Isaiah 62:5-8 Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem, just as a young man commits himself to his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. 6 O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the LORD. 7 Give the LORD no rest until He completes His work, until He makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth. 8 The LORD has sworn to Jerusalem by His own strength: "I will never again hand you over to your enemies. Never again will foreign warriors come and take away your grain and new wine.
This will all occur in a time of great devastation for Israel. That is why praying for Israel, not necessarily agreeing with her politically, is SO important. Jesus will not return until Israeli leaders in Jerusalem invite Him back as Messiah:
Luke 13:34-35 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let Me. 35 And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see Me again until you say, 'Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the LORD!'"
This statement by Jesus was a confirmation of the prophecy first given in Psalm 118, which described the events leading up to Israel inviting Jesus to be Messiah. She will be "pushed violently" and surrounded by her enemies like bees:
Psalms 118:10-26 Though hostile nations surrounded me, I destroyed them all with the authority of the LORD. 11 Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, but I destroyed them all with the authority of the LORD. 12 They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a crackling fire. But I destroyed them all with the authority of the LORD. 13 My enemies did their best to kill me, but the LORD rescued me. 14 The LORD is my strength and my song; He has given me victory. 15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things! 16 The strong right arm of the LORD is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things! 17 I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the LORD has done. 18 The LORD has punished me severely, but He did not let me die. 19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the LORD. 20 These gates lead to the presence of the LORD, and the godly enter there. 21 I thank You for answering my prayer and giving me victory! 22 The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. 23 This is the LORD's doing, and it is wonderful to see. 24 This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Please, LORD, please save us. Please, LORD, please give us success. 26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD.
Jesus is a Jewish man. If you are a Christian, you are part of Jesus' body...that means you are literally part of a Jewish man's body... He has never given up on His own family, but He will let them fall into a severe situation in order to allow them incentive to repent and come under His leadership. The severe situation is His LOVE....it is more loving than an eternity separate from life. The love manifest in the Church that overflows in night and day prayer for Israel is what will lead her to be jealous for that same kind of relationship with Jesus. This is a simple plan but often neglected in the teaching of the western Church:
Romans 11:22-26 Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in His kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. 23 And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. 24 You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into His cultivated tree, He will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong. 25 I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. 26 And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, "The One who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and He will turn Israel away from ungodliness.
A time of trouble for Israel is unfolding in a VERY prophetic way. Do you know what to watch for, what to pray for...and how to make ready?
Watch. Pray. Be Ready.
The primary role of the Church in the end times is praying for the salvation of Israel. This is what will eventually bring unity...seeing eye to eye... to the end time Church all over the planet:
Isaiah 52:4-10 For thus says the Lord GOD: "My people went down at first Into Egypt to dwell there; Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 Now therefore, what have I here," says the LORD, "That My people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them Make them wail," says the LORD, "And My name is blasphemed continually every day. 6 Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: 'Behold, it is I.' " 7 How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!" 8 Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye When the LORD brings back Zion. 9 Break forth into joy, sing together, You waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God.
The watchmen are the end time Church. They will sing and pray night and day until Jerusalem is a "praise in the nations"...that means they will pray to music night and day until Jesus returns and sets up His throne in the physical city of Jerusalem:
Isaiah 62:5-8 Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem, just as a young man commits himself to his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. 6 O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the LORD. 7 Give the LORD no rest until He completes His work, until He makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth. 8 The LORD has sworn to Jerusalem by His own strength: "I will never again hand you over to your enemies. Never again will foreign warriors come and take away your grain and new wine.
This will all occur in a time of great devastation for Israel. That is why praying for Israel, not necessarily agreeing with her politically, is SO important. Jesus will not return until Israeli leaders in Jerusalem invite Him back as Messiah:
Luke 13:34-35 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let Me. 35 And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see Me again until you say, 'Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the LORD!'"
This statement by Jesus was a confirmation of the prophecy first given in Psalm 118, which described the events leading up to Israel inviting Jesus to be Messiah. She will be "pushed violently" and surrounded by her enemies like bees:
Psalms 118:10-26 Though hostile nations surrounded me, I destroyed them all with the authority of the LORD. 11 Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, but I destroyed them all with the authority of the LORD. 12 They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a crackling fire. But I destroyed them all with the authority of the LORD. 13 My enemies did their best to kill me, but the LORD rescued me. 14 The LORD is my strength and my song; He has given me victory. 15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things! 16 The strong right arm of the LORD is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things! 17 I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the LORD has done. 18 The LORD has punished me severely, but He did not let me die. 19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the LORD. 20 These gates lead to the presence of the LORD, and the godly enter there. 21 I thank You for answering my prayer and giving me victory! 22 The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. 23 This is the LORD's doing, and it is wonderful to see. 24 This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Please, LORD, please save us. Please, LORD, please give us success. 26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD.
Jesus is a Jewish man. If you are a Christian, you are part of Jesus' body...that means you are literally part of a Jewish man's body... He has never given up on His own family, but He will let them fall into a severe situation in order to allow them incentive to repent and come under His leadership. The severe situation is His LOVE....it is more loving than an eternity separate from life. The love manifest in the Church that overflows in night and day prayer for Israel is what will lead her to be jealous for that same kind of relationship with Jesus. This is a simple plan but often neglected in the teaching of the western Church:
Romans 11:22-26 Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in His kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. 23 And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. 24 You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into His cultivated tree, He will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong. 25 I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. 26 And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, "The One who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and He will turn Israel away from ungodliness.
A time of trouble for Israel is unfolding in a VERY prophetic way. Do you know what to watch for, what to pray for...and how to make ready?
Watch. Pray. Be Ready.
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